| 1. |
- Anderson, N. John, et al.
(författare)
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The Arctic in the Twenty-First Century : Changing Biogeochemical Linkages across a Paraglacial Landscape of Greenland
- 2017
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Ingår i: BioScience. - : Oxford University Press. - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 67:2, s. 118-133
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Kangerlussuaq area of southwest Greenland encompasses diverse ecological, geomorphic, and climate gradients that function over a range of spatial and temporal scales. Ecosystems range from the microbial communities on the ice sheet and moisture-stressed terrestrial vegetation (and their associated herbivores) to freshwater and oligosaline lakes. These ecosystems are linked by a dynamic glacio-fluvial-aeolian geomorphic system that transports water, geological material, organic carbon and nutrients from the glacier surface to adjacent terrestrial and aquatic systems. This paraglacial system is now subject to substantial change because of rapid regional warming since 2000. Here, we describe changes in the eco-and geomorphic systems at a range of timescales and explore rapid future change in the links that integrate these systems. We highlight the importance of cross-system subsidies at the landscape scale and, importantly, how these might change in the near future as the Arctic is expected to continue to warm.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Enabling Green and Blue Infrastructure to Improve Contributions to Human Well-Being and Equity in Urban Systems
- 2019
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Ingår i: BioScience. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 69:7, s. 566-574
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The circumstances under which different ecosystem service benefits can be realized differ. The benefits tend to be coproduced and to be enabled by multiple interacting social, ecological, and technological factors, which is particularly evident in cities. As many cities are undergoing rapid change, these factors need to be better understood and accounted for, especially for those most in need of benefits. We propose a framework of three systemic filters that affect the flow of ecosystem service benefits: the interactions among green, blue, and built infrastructures; the regulatory power and governance of institutions; and people's individual and shared perceptions and values. We argue that more fully connecting green and blue infrastructure to its urban systems context and highlighting dynamic interactions among the three filters are key to understanding how and why ecosystem services have variable distribution, continuing inequities in who benefits, and the long-term resilience of the flows of benefits.
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| 3. |
- Baron, J. S., et al.
(författare)
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Synthesis Centers as Critical Research Infrastructure
- 2017
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Ingår i: Bioscience. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 67:8, s. 750-759
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Synthesis centers offer a unique amalgam of culture, infrastructure, leadership, and support that facilitates creative discovery on issues crucial to science and society. The combination of logistical support, postdoctoral or senior fellowships, complex data management, informatics and computing capability or expertise, and most of all, opportunity for group discussion and reflection lowers the "activation energy" necessary to promote creativity and the cross-fertilization of ideas. Synthesis centers are explicitly created and operated as community-oriented infrastructure, with scholarly directions driven by the ever-changing interests and needs of an open and inclusive scientific community. The last decade has seen a rise in the number of synthesis centers globally but also the end of core federal funding for several, challenging the sustainability of the infrastructure for this key research strategy. Here, we present the history and rationale for supporting synthesis centers, integrate insights arising from two decades of experience, and explore the challenges and opportunities for long-term sustainability.
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| 4. |
- Bauer, Silke, et al.
(författare)
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From Agricultural Benefits to Aviation Safety : Realizing the Potential of Continent-Wide Radar Networks
- 2017
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Ingår i: BioScience. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 67:10, s. 912-918
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Migratory animals provide a multitude of services and disservices-with benefits or costs in the order of billions of dollars annually. Monitoring, quantifying, and forecasting migrations across continents could assist diverse stakeholders in utilizing migrant services, reducing disservices, or mitigating human-wildlife conflicts. Radars are powerful tools for such monitoring as they can assess directional intensities, such as migration traffic rates, and biomass transported. Currently, however, most radar applications are local or small scale and therefore substantially limited in their ability to address large-scale phenomena. As weather radars are organized into continent-wide networks and also detect "biological targets," they could routinely monitor aerial migrations over the relevant spatial scales and over the timescales required for detecting responses to environmental perturbations. To tap these unexploited resources, a concerted effort is needed among diverse fields of expertise and among stakeholders to recognize the value of the existing infrastructure and data beyond weather forecasting.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Chapron, Guillaume
(författare)
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Modernization, Risk, and Conservation of the World’s Largest Carnivores
- 2017
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Ingår i: Bioscience. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 67, s. 646-655
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Large carnivores are threatened worldwide by a variety of human-driven factors, including persecution, which regularly results when they come into conflict with people. Although human activities are almost universally viewed as negatively affecting carnivore conservation, we contend that conservation outcomes for carnivores are improved when social and economic forces reduce the risks associated with these species and facilitate the acquisition of values favorable to their conservation. We make three specific propositions: (1) Societal tolerance for carnivores is affected by the distribution of risks and benefits associated with these species, (2) modernization and its associated social changes reduce the risks associated with large carnivores and their conservation, and (3) modernization induces lasting effects on conservation by changing societal values. We review existing evidence and present cross-sectional data showing that variation among nations in large carnivore conservation outcomes are related to three facets of modernization believed to reduce the risks associated with large carnivores.
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| 7. |
- Chapron, Guillaume
(författare)
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Saving the World's Terrestrial Megafauna
- 2016
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Ingår i: Bioscience. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 66, s. 807-812
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 8. |
- Devlin, Robert H., et al.
(författare)
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Assessing Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences of Growth-Accelerated Genetically Engineered Fishes
- 2015
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Ingår i: BioScience. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 65:7, s. 685-700
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genetically engineered fish containing growth hormone (GH) transgenes have been synthesized for more than 25 years, now with modifications made in multiple aquacultured species. Despite significant improvements in production characteristics being realized, these fish have not yet entered commercial production. The very strong enhancement of growth rates that can arise from GH transgenesis in fish has generated public and scientific concern regarding ecological and food safety. Little ecological risk is anticipated from engineered strains kept in fully contained facilities, so the concern is largely directed toward the reliability of containment measures and determining whether robust ecological data, pertinent to nature, can be generated within research facilities to minimize uncertainty and allow reliable risk-assessment predictions. This article summarizes the growth, life history, and behavioral changes observed in GH-transgenic fish and discusses the environmental and evolutionary factors affecting the adaptation, plasticity, and fitness of transgenic fish and their potential consequences on natural ecosystems.
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| 9. |
- Doak, Daniel F., et al.
(författare)
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Recommendations for Improving Recovery Criteria under the US Endangered Species Act
- 2015
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Ingår i: BioScience. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 65:2, s. 189-199
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recovery criteria, the thresholds mandated by the Endangered Species Act that define when species may be considered for downlisting or removal from the endangered species list, are a key component of conservation planning in the United States. We recommend improvements in the definition and scientific justification of recovery criteria, addressing both data-rich and data-poor situations. We emphasize the distinction between recovery actions and recovery criteria and recommend the use of quantitative population analyses to measure the impacts of threats and to explicitly tie recovery criteria to population status. To this end, we provide a brief tutorial on the legal and practical requirements and constraints of recovery criteria development. We conclude by contrasting our recommendations with other alternatives and by describing ways in which academic scientists can contribute productively to the planning process and to endangered species recovery.
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| 10. |
- D'Odorico, Paolo, et al.
(författare)
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Food Inequality, Injustice, and Rights
- 2019
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Ingår i: BioScience. - : Oxford University Press. - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 69:3, s. 180-190
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As humanity continues to grow in size, questions related to human rights and the existing unequal distribution of food resources have taken on greater urgency. Is inequality in food access unjust or a regrettable consequence of the geographic distribution of biophysical resources? To what extent are there obligations to redress inequalities in access to food? We draw from a human rights perspective to identify obligations associated with access to food and develop a quantitative framework to evaluate the fulfillment of the human right to food. We discuss the capacity of socioeconomic development to reduce inequalities in per capita food availability with respect to the distribution of biophysical resources among countries. Although, at the country level, international trade shows the capacity to reduce human rights deficits by increasing food availability in countries with limited food production, whether it actually improves the fulfillment of the right to food will depend on within-country inequality.
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| 11. |
- Guerrero-Bosagna, Carlos
(författare)
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Evolution with No Reason : A Neutral View on Epigenetic Changes, Genomic Variability, and Evolutionary Novelty
- 2017
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Ingår i: BioScience. - : Oxford University Press. - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 67:5, s. 469-476
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Explanations about the origin of evolutionary novelties are generally related to their adaptive value and are therefore based on ultimate causes. However, the current knowledge of genomics allows inquiry into the molecular mechanism involved in the generation of genomic evolutionary novelties, which is an approach based on proximate causes. Recent genomic evidence suggests that adaptive processes may not be as relevant as neutral (i.e., nonadaptive) processes in evolution. Based on the logic of understanding proximate causes of evolution, it is proposed here that environmentally induced germ-line epigenetic changes could be important in generating genomic evolutionary novelty. Moreover, epigenetically induced genetic variability would be in tune with the neutral theory of evolution, because this variability would be produced independent of fitness effects or adaptive value.
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| 12. |
- Gustafsson, Karin M, 1983-
(författare)
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Latest News on the Monarch Butterfly
- 2015
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Ingår i: BioScience. - : Oxford University Press. - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 65:12, s. 1190-1192
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Recension (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 13. |
- Gustafsson, Karin M., 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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The Monarch Butterfly through Time and Space : The Social Construction of an Icon
- 2015
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Ingår i: BioScience. - : Oxford University Press. - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 65:6, s. 612-622
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study, we explore the social construction of the monarch butterfly as a conservation icon in order to understand how the butterfly has come to be endowed with the power to shape public conversations and potentially alter policy and practice. Our analysis is guided by the sociological concepts of coproduction and boundary objects, which reveal how this butterfly has animated and sustained conversations across diverse organizational boundaries. We find that engagement with narratives of beauty, natural wonder, scientific discovery, conservation imperatives, and civic duty has allowed the monarch to enroll actors in a broad network that gives rise to surprising, emergent properties. These properties make the monarch a powerful communication vehicle and a potent ally in environmental politics. Our analysis of the historical and contemporary construction of the monarch as an icon contributes to ongoing efforts to bring resources from critical social science to bear on the strengthening of science-policy–practice interfaces.
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| 14. |
- Hjalten, Joakim, et al.
(författare)
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Forest–Stream Links, Anthropogenic Stressors, and Climate Change: Implications for Restoration Planning
- 2016
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Ingår i: BioScience. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 66:8, s. 646-654
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The global extraction of forest and water resources has led to habitat degradation, biodiversity loss, and declines in ecosystem services. As a consequence, ecological restoration has become a global priority. Restoration efforts to offset this trend, however, are not always effective. One reason is that many restoration projects target single ecosystems and fail to acknowledge functional links between ecosystems. We synthesized current knowledge on links between forest and stream ecosystems, the effect of anthropogenic stressors on these links, and their implications for restoration planning. Many examples show that lateral subsidies, such as invertebrate prey and nutrients, are important in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. Stressors such as commercial forestry, flow regulation, stream channelization, and climate change affect these links and should be considered in restoration planning. Restoration practitioners are encouraged to view adjacent forest and stream ecosystems as one entity.
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| 15. |
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| 16. |
- McPhearson, Timon, et al.
(författare)
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Advancing Urban Ecology toward a Science of Cities
- 2016
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Ingår i: BioScience. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 66:3, s. 198-212
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Urban ecology is a field encompassing multiple disciplines and practical applications and has grown rapidly. However, the field is heterogeneous as a global inquiry with multiple theoretical and conceptual frameworks, variable research approaches, and a lack of coordination among multiple schools of thought and research foci. Here, we present an international consensus on how urban ecology can advance along multiple research directions. There is potential for the field to mature as a holistic, integrated science of urban systems. Such an integrated science could better inform decisionmakers who need increased understanding of complex relationships among social, ecological, economic, and built infrastructure systems. To advance the field requires conceptual synthesis, knowledge and data sharing; cross-city comparative research, new intellectual networks, and engagement with additional disciplines. We consider challenges and opportunities for understanding dynamics of urban systems. We suggest pathways for advancing urban ecology research to support the goals of improving urban sustainability and resilience, conserving urban biodiversity, and promoting human well-being on an urbanizing planet.
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| 17. |
- Nilsson, Christer, et al.
(författare)
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Ecological Restoration as a Means of Managing Inland Flood Hazards
- 2018
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Ingår i: BioScience. - : Oxford University Press. - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 68:2, s. 89-99
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Many streams and rivers experience major floods. Historically, human societies have responded to such floods by moving away from them or by abating them, the latter with large negative impacts on stream and river ecology. Societies are currently implementing a strategy of "living with floods,"which may involve ecological restoration. It further involves flood mapping, forecasting, and warning systems. We evaluate 14 different stream-and river-restoration measures, which differ in their capacity to modify water retention and runoff. We discuss these restoration measures in the light of predicted changes in climate and flooding and discuss future restoration needs. We focus on the Nordic countries, where substantial changes in the water cycle are foreseen. We conclude that sustainable solutions require researchers to monitor the effect of flood management and study the relative importance of individual restoration measures, as well as the side effects of flood attenuation.
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| 18. |
- Raymond, Christopher
(författare)
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Incorporating Sociocultural Phenomena into Ecosystem-Service Valuation: The Importance of Critical Pluralism
- 2017
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Ingår i: Bioscience. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 67, s. 233-244
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ecosystem-services scholarship has largely focused on monetary valuation and the material contributions of ecosystems to human well-being. Increasingly, research is calling for a deeper understanding of how less tangible, nonmaterial values shape management and stakeholder decisions. We propose a framework that characterizes a suite of sociocultural phenomena rooted in key social science disciplines that are currently underrepresented in the ecosystem-services literature. The results from three example studies are presented to demonstrate how the tenets of this conceptual model can be applied in practice. We consider the findings from these studies in light of three priorities for future research: (1) complexities in individual and social functioning, (2) the salience and specificity of the perceived benefits of nature, and (3) distinctions among value concepts. We also pose a series of questions to stimulate reflection on how ecosystem-services research can adopt more pluralistic viewpoints that accommodate different forms of knowledge and its acquisition.
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| 19. |
- Rieb, Jesse T., et al.
(författare)
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When, Where, and How Nature Matters for Ecosystem Services : Challenges for the Next Generation of Ecosystem Service Models
- 2017
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Ingår i: BioScience. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 67:9, s. 820-833
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Many decision-makers are looking to science to clarify how nature supports human well-being. Scientists' responses have typically focused on empirical models of the provision of ecosystem services (ES) and resulting decision-support tools. Although such tools have captured some of the complexities of ES, they can be difficult to adapt to new situations. Globally useful tools that predict the provision of multiple ES under different decision scenarios have proven challenging to develop. Questions from decision-makers and limitations of existing decision-support tools indicate three crucial research frontiers for incorporating cutting-edge ES science into decision-support tools: (1) understanding the complex dynamics of ES in space and time, (2) linking ES provision to human well-being, and (3) determining the potential for technology to substitute for or enhance ES. We explore these frontiers in-depth, explaining why each is important and how existing knowledge at their cutting edges can be incorporated to improve ES decision-making tools.
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| 20. |
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| 21. |
- Soininen, Janne, et al.
(författare)
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Toward More Integrated Ecosystem Research in Aquatic and Terrestrial Environments
- 2015
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Ingår i: BioScience. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 65:2, s. 174-182
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems are tightly linked through the fluxes of organisms and matter. However, aquatic and terrestrial ecologists have mainly studied these ecosystems separately, a "splendid isolation" historically fostered by disciplinary boundaries between institutes and funding schemes. Here, we synthesize the progress made in joint aquatic and terrestrial research and suggest new approaches to meeting future research challenges in changing environments. Aquatic and terrestrial organisms use cross-system subsidies to a comparable extent and addressing reciprocal subsidies is therefore necessary in order to understand biodiversity and functioning of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. We suggest that the metaecosystem framework could be expanded to explicitly consider cross-system fluxes of matter differing in magnitude and quality. We further advocate the inclusion of cross-system analyses at broader spatial extents, for which remote-sensing applications would be a useful tool in environmental research at the land-water interface. A cross-ecosystem approach would therefore be valuable for a more thorough understanding of ecosystem responses to various stressors in the face of rapid environmental change.
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| 22. |
- Trouwborst, Arie, et al.
(författare)
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International Wildlife Law : Understanding and Enhancing Its Role in Conservation
- 2017
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Ingår i: BioScience. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 37:9, s. 784-790
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Many conservation professionals are familiar with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Ramsar Convention, and the World Heritage Convention. Regional instruments, such as those focusing on Africa, Antarctica, or Europe, are also conspicuous features of the conservation arena. Other international wildlife agreements focus on particular species, such as polar bears or albatrosses, or particular transboundary protected areas, such as the huge Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (see table 1). These agreements are collectively known as international wildlife law (Bowman et al. 2010). The binding agreements themselves are typically accompanied and informed by an evolving set of nonbinding instruments, such as Conference of the Parties (COP) decisions and action plans.
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| 23. |
- Verheyen, Kris, et al.
(författare)
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201 Combining Biodiversity Resurveys across Regions to Advance Global Change Research
- 2017
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Ingår i: BioScience. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 67:1, s. 73-83
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- More and more ecologists have started to resurvey communities sampled in earlier decades to determine long-term shifts in community composition and infer the likely drivers of the ecological changes observed. However, to assess the relative importance of and interactions among multiple drivers, joint analyses of resurvey data from many regions spanning large environmental gradients are needed. In this article, we illustrate how combining resurvey data from multiple regions can increase the likelihood of driver orthogonality within the design and show that repeatedly surveying across multiple regions provides higher representativeness and comprehensiveness, allowing us to answer more completely a broader range of questions. We provide general guidelines to aid the implementation of multiregion resurvey databases. In so doing, we aim to encourage resurvey database development across other community types and biomes to advance global environmental change research.
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| 24. |
- Pejchar, Liba, et al.
(författare)
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Net Effects of Birds in Agroecosystems
- 2018
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Ingår i: BioScience. - 0006-3568. ; 68:11, s. 896-904
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Incorporating both ecosystem services and disservices into land-use decisions is essential for meeting conservation and livelihood goals. We discuss the merits and challenges of this concept, termed net effects, for birds in agroecosystems. Although birds have widely documented impacts on agriculture (e.g., pest control, crop damage), the net effects of such activities are rarely quantified. This could be attributed to the complexity of measuring direct and indirect trophic interactions, and the necessity of cross-disciplinary collaboration to value biophysical outcomes in economic and other relevant terms. We suggest that the direction and magnitude of net effects is driven by biotic, farm-level and landscape factors. These factors, some within and others beyond farmer control, interact in potentially predictable ways. We propose a framework for making policy decisions about farming practices and land-use planning informed by net effects to help farmers and society achieve positive outcomes for biodiversity and agricultural production.
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